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Scarlett McCalman was born and raised in New York City. She currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland where she attends the Maryland Institute College of Art. She will receive her BFA in 2014. Scarlett has shown her work in various shows on the MICA campus, including the Foundation exhibition in 2011, as well as vari… Read More

Scarlett McCalman was born and raised in New York City. She currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland where she attends the Maryland Institute College of Art. She will receive her BFA in 2014. Scarlett has shown her work in various shows on the MICA campus, including the Foundation exhibition in 2011, as well as various small group shows with other undergraduate students. She has had two solo installations on display on the campus in 2011 and 2012. Scarlett first began utilizing the typewriter as a drawing tool in 2010 as it allows her to synthesize her writing and drawing practices, as well as her obsessive and labor intensive tendencies. Read Less

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Artist Statement

I’ve used typewriters for the past five years, since a good friend gave me his. Since typewriters are no longer a commodity, they make the process of journaling feel especially nostalgic, what I write with a typewriter seems to have some history and importance. In this series I used manual typewriters as my prim… Read More

I’ve used typewriters for the past five years, since a good friend gave me his. Since typewriters are no longer a commodity, they make the process of journaling feel especially nostalgic, what I write with a typewriter seems to have some history and importance. In this series I used manual typewriters as my primary tool. I’ve kept extensive journals for years and transcribed my entries and poems into each piece, by doing this I am allowed to have the content of my writing in the piece, but mask it in a portrait, or preconceived guidelines. The content of my writing deals with my psychology as it relates to those I am close with. Oftentimes an entire body of work is comprised of the question of what sanity is and means. Mental illness and addiction runs in my family, because of this I relentlessly self reflect, and this carries into my writing and visual work. For me, a meditative process is the best way to examine more closely. For these pieces I chose the process of tediously typing out my thoughts again and again. Each piece has a certain person or group of people in mind. The darkest areas mask the darkest parts of my writing, the lighter areas reveal clues to the content. Though the process is draining and requires a great deal of concentration, the content is on my mind throughout the creation, as I am writing it out again and again. The words act as marks that build up tone, and invite the viewer to decipher the content. The marks in the resulting image mirror the machine used to create them. Hundreds of very small pieces build the whole. The prospect of dismantling the image inspired me to dismantle the machine. At times the act of typing for long hours becomes a physical and emotional burden. Though I invest and rely upon typewriters, dissecting them and reconfiguring them relieves some of the heavy qualities they’ve instilled in my work. Each part of the typewriter (unlike modern technology) is physical, and serves one purpose. All together they serve one basic function: to allow humans to transcribe their thoughts. Each piece of the typewriter, even though manufactured has it’s own aesthetic beauty, and recalls a history. These machines themselves are older than I am. Read Less

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